Catch up with Val at the Edinburgh Festival! She is doing lots of events this summer so head over to our Events page to find out where she is going to be.

You can even see her strutting her stuff on stage (23rd August –details) with the Fun Lovin’ Crime Writers…

Val Says: Here’s a glimpse into the secret world of Fun Lovin’ Crime Writers in rehearsal. Getting ready for our gigs at the Edinburgh Book Festival and Bloody Scotland. It’s been a while since I strutted my stuff on stage but finally I get to live the dream of the rock star life.Not.

The election of Donald Trump last November had an unexpected result in my household. My 16-year-old son developed a fascination with systems of governance. The disparity between the popular vote – won by Hillary Clinton – and the electoral college that propelled Trump into office offended his sense of justice.

It’s been a recurring topic of conversation ever since. We discussed monarchy versus republicanism over pizza. It took several breakfasts to cover communism satisfactorily. I hadn’t even had my second cup of coffee the morning we moved on to Julius Nyerere’s dream of pan-African socialism.

forced me to re-examine tenets I’ve tended to take for granted. Sure, I’ve grumbled about disproportional representation, raged over democratic deficits and moaned when the verdict of the people didn’t coincide with mine. But it took those conversations with a 16-year-old to remind me of the idealist I used to be, and to consider what true reformation might mean.

One of Scotland’s top crime writers is set to take on a 13-mile walk for charity in a bid to raise awareness of breast cancer. Val McDermid, who has sold more than 15 million books to date, will join the ranks of the pink-bra brigade as she rises to the MoonWalk challenge this summer.

The 61-year-old, from Kirkcaldy, is battling Type 2 diabetes and sees the opportunity to “roll back” her condition while raising funds for a great cause.

McDermid, who will be taking part in the “Half Moon” walk with her partner Jo Sharp, is aiming to raise about £5,000 as she joins thousands of other women and men in Edinburgh for the event on 10 June.